Being in the Light & Bringing Light

And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing--sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life.  Alma 28:14

Daffodils have brought sunshine to the Preston Temple grounds!

One last note on Japan:  We senior missionaries have followed the drama in Japan and prayed for those good people, all children of God.  Though a sorrowful time, there is also hope and joy in knowing all will rise again and gain immortal bodies.  The joy the gospel brings is assurance that death is not the end and all of us may be united through our Savior Jesus Christ.  That is why there is such urgency in the message missionaries take to the people of the world.  Everyone needs the opportunity to receive the blessing of the restored gospel and to receive His light in their lives.

The living among the dead--more daffodils in a cemetery near our home.

 Because Jesus Christ promised that everyone on earth would be able to learn of Him and of the great Plan of Salvation, the missionaries seem to have an extra measure of protection as they labor in his mission fields (vineyards).  We are grateful for the miracle of all missionaries being found safe in Japan.  People may now be  even more interested in the message they have to share.  Tragedy often softens the hearts and opens minds to spiritual things.

Let there be more light . . .
Now that daylight savings time has begun in the United States, there is more light in the evening in that part of the world.  England will spring the clocks forward this Sunday and we will also seemingly have our days extended with light.  Since days have been shorter here due to our latitude, we look forward to more light because more people are out and we can work longer in the evening finding them.  Daylight Savings Time is a way of giving light where we need it most during the months we love to be outdoors.
. . . and lambs!

The first Jacob lambs of the season!  I didn't want to upset mama too much, so I had to quickly grab this picture and get back into the car.  Right after this, she nudged the newly born sleepy one and got him onto his wobbly feet.  When we came back down the road, she was feeding them both.

I am celebrating spring by rejoicing over all the hundreds of lambs springing up in the green fields.  Daffodils are popping up everywhere.  England is covered in them.  The bright contrast of yellow against the green is absolutely one of the most beautiful sights this time of year.  Simple yellow flowers bring sunshine and light to everyone who delights in them.  The gospel in a similar manner brings sunshine and light to our souls if we choose to delight in it.
and flowers . . .

At the mission home.  Sister Bullock's table decorated for a farewell dinner to a fabulously successful, faithful senior couple (Allens) who served 23 months on the Isle of Man.

and the lovely lights (missionaries) performing service . . .

Elder Z. was transferred into the same zone as we are in when we got transferred here.  He is STILL always carrying everything for us!  We love him and his wonderful, humble attitude of always giving service even to his fellow missionaries.  This stuff is all for our activity night for Young Single Adults.  Zone conference was all day here on the temple grounds in the stake building.  We had to prepare for the activity immediately after zone conference.

Elder Blain is looking short next to these two elders.  This is the kitchen where we do a lot of our work.

Lots of sunshine in Darwen for several weeks now!

The angle on these roofs in Darwen show how steep the hill is as we look towards where we live.  India Tower is the main landmark here.

Overlooking all of Darwen, we can see our apartment from up here.  We were looking for a way to get to Darwen Tower, which is on top of the highest mountain overlooking Darwen.  Our place is the highest at the edge of the houses before the moors.   It is a tiny reddish dot on the right of the straight road going up the hill, which is on the right of the radio tower (or whatever it is) that is at the top and middle of this photo.  We placed a Book of Mormon with a crusty older man while up here!

A wall in Hoddleton where I walk often.  At the end of this road on the left is where I fell into the ditch.  Bruises are still with me, but I may be able to kneel for prayer in a week or so.  In this case, don't walk into the light at the end of the road.

The ivy is becoming more vividly alive with spring.

You can see our apartment really well in this picture.  The red roof  is sticking up just right of the steel tower that is up by the tree line.

We went by this last barn on the way to the top of the highest hill overlooking Darwen.

 We placed three Books of Mormon while searching the top of the hills for the Darwen Tower!  Got one solid appointment to teach!

The Darwen Tower marker at the trail head.  We placed a Book of Mormon with a young woman who was petting her cat while sitting on a fence up here.